"sean sherk, ya dead!"

[Po]

Penn looked like an absolute beast against Joe Daddy, Sherk, Florini, and Sanchez- if you take out the destruction by GSP (he never should have went back up to WW to do that at that point anyway- pride fucking with you) and that was the best segment of his career.

Insane to think a few years later he'd look the way he did against Edgar his last time out.

Good post. That 2nd GSP fight took years off his life in general as well as his fight life in my opinion.

He took a lot of head trauma/ damage and I thought his reflexes started to slow after this fight. In his very next bout vs Florian and then vs Sanchez, you can already see some decline.

 

[Po]

This. If Sherk attempted to wrestle with Penn, the fight could have ended much differently (don't forget that right after, GSP implemented a wrestling-heavy gameplan and basically broke BJ's spirit).

We've all seen what happens to Sherk when he doesn't use his wrestling. 3rd round of the Griffin fight, The Edgar fight, and the 3rd round of the Dunham fight. If Sherk chose to use the strategy he used in the Penn fight for all his fights he would have had A LOT more losses on his record.

In response to TS's question, I would say the best Penn was the Penn that fought with Florian.

It might have been different had Sherk decided to wrestle more but dealing with GSP's wrestling at 170 and dealing with Sherk's at 155 are two very different things.

Sherk probably didn't want to get boxed up when getting takedowns stuffed like Hughes did in the 2nd Penn fight.

 

[Etherized]

Why did BJ split from Marinovich

 

[MikeHammer**]

Why did BJ split from Marinovich

Difference in training philosophies.

Marinovich believed in hard work and tough training camps and was not a yes man.

BJ did not and was not having that.

 

[Sexy Jesus]

The most motivated Penn was the one who was about to eat a full plate of burritos

 

[Graniteeyed]

BJ was NEVER the same after him and Marv split. I think if he was still training cardio with Marv, His career could have been better than what it ended up being during the end.

He should have been fighting at 155 his whole stint

Pretty much yes to everything here. I had him beating Edgar in their first fight but at the start of the fourth round it was as if all the hard work he had put in under Marv to stay in fighting shape just ran out a tick too soon and his entire career was on E from that point on.

 

[Joker Jiujitsu]

Why?

Be honest and tell me why.

The UFC LW division was brand new and very thin when BJ took it and ruled it. It was by comparison a very weak division then the one Edgar had to defend in and ever since then.

Not sure why people are shocked BJ dominated and crushed guys in the much weaker version of the LW division but could not win once the division attracted some top talent. BJ was a loan top shark swimming mostly amongst guy a tier below when he ruled the LW division.

Sean Sherk was probably the best win during that time. Guys like Florian, Sanchez, and Stevenson faltered against the elite time and time again.

 

[Steve08]

I thought this was more badass:

"He's done. He's done."

BJ called off the fight.

The one who destroyed endurance machines like Sanchez and Florian because he was actually training cardio properly under Marinovich.

This.

 

[Steve08]

Why did BJ split from Marinovich

He wanted BJ to train like a world champ. BJ wanted to train mostly at night and usually once per day. That's why.

for the record, I've trained twice in one day before. It's not that hard, although it'd be harder if you trained with beasts who want to steal your soul, but it really is just as easy as driving to the gym once in the morning and once at night, or even three times if you're Daniel Cormier. The mental commitment to embrace the grind is what is hard.

 

[Goodfella86]

This. If Sherk attempted to wrestle with Penn, the fight could have ended much differently (don't forget that right after, GSP implemented a wrestling-heavy gameplan and basically broke BJ's spirit).

We've all seen what happens to Sherk when he doesn't use his wrestling. 3rd round of the Griffin fight, The Edgar fight, and the 3rd round of the Dunham fight. If Sherk chose to use the strategy he used in the Penn fight for all his fights he would have had A LOT more losses on his record.

In response to TS's question, I would say the best Penn was the Penn that fought with Florian.

totally agree with this assessment. I knew sherk had the potential to beat bj. if he had just pushed himself hard enough to get that first takedown, the rest would've come more easily. sherk has a relentless top game. i don't think he would've even tried to pursue the pass, but with his unique frame, he also had the ability to stuff someone's guard and smash him with short elbows. he probably could've beaten Frankie edgar, too, but that was a more difficult task than it seemed at the time. i'm just glad he retired with only 4 losses and all to all-time greats.

 

[RepairManManMan]

 

[Highflyer]

I would agree. Penn was probably at his very, very best when he fought Sherk. And Sherk was probably the only LW at the time who posed a formidable task for him.

I honestly thought at the time that Sherk was going to win or at least put up a very good fight. Was thinking he's going to keep on grinding, regardless of how boring or cheap it looks, until Penn was sapped and then get the td's.

 

[Steve08]

:icon_lol:

Perfect, just perfect.

 

[Highflyer]

Sean Sherk was probably the best win during that time. Guys like Florian, Sanchez, and Stevenson faltered against the elite time and time again.

Sherk is Penn's best win, imo.

Stevenson just isn't very talented overall. I knew it was going to be a massacre.

Sanchez is only good with ground game, but terrible in the standup. I knew he would lose badly. His "mean faces" tricked a lot of ppl into thinking he would pose a problem for Penn.

I do think that Florian used a stupid game plan (thinking he's GSP) against Penn. And not only that he wasn't quite at his peak yet when they fought. The Florian that fought Gomi using lots of jabs and better improved kicks would do better. Not sure if he could win, but I can see him hurting Penn a lot with the kicks.

 

[ocfightfan]

He wanted BJ to train like a world champ. BJ wanted to train mostly at night and usually once per day. That's why.

for the record, I've trained twice in one day before. It's not that hard, although it'd be harder if you trained with beasts who want to steal your soul, but it really is just as easy as driving to the gym once in the morning and once at night, or even three times if you're Daniel Cormier. The mental commitment to embrace the grind is what is hard.

I also heard there was an issue with the order of training, S&C vs skill, as well. But either way it boiled down to Penn not wanting to be told what to do and trying to coast on talent. He wanted to be the best but wasn't willing to make the sacrifices to get there and definitely didn't want anyone who would push him.

 

[RedRackham]

"Georges, I'm going to go to the death, I'm going to try to kill you and I'm not joking about this."

 

[Highflyer]

"Georges, I'm going to go to the death, I'm going to try to kill you and I'm not joking about this."

Let me take back what I said earlier...

The fight with GSP the second time around was probably the best shape Penn was ever in and the most motivation he's ever had. ... Except GSP was just too good.

 

[Steve08]

I also heard there was an issue with the order of training, S&C vs skill, as well. But either way it boiled down to Penn not wanting to be told what to do and trying to coast on talent. He wanted to be the best but wasn't willing to make the sacrifices to get there and definitely didn't want anyone who would push him.

Yeah I heard something like that too. Ultimately though I'm pretty sure BJ was actually just sick of lifting weights and doing cardio. His bro science explanations were not very convincing.

Yes, you have to be training is the motions you do in the fight, but you cant perform those motions with consummate fluidity for 25min if you're not in shape either.

 

[clayj]

Sherk is Penn's best win, imo.

what???

 

[Janne1]

The Sanchez fight was ugly to watch. Don't know about the level of Penn's motivation, but he sure as hell fought pretty damn good.